The present invention relates to head mounted lamp devices and, more particularly, to an improved lighted hat combination, whereby a part of a mounted lamp structure reversibly rotates to turn the lamp on and off.
Lamps have been mounted to headgear for many years. Most well known, perhaps, is the old style carbide lamp mounted on miners"" hard hats. More recently, carbide lamps have been replaced by battery-powered lamps. When such lamps have been mounted on hard hats, little concern has been expressed for the mounting technique since hard hats provide adequate support. Other lamps are known that are strapped to a user""s head with elastic straps, wherein a forward-facing lamp housing provides the user with light. However, there are other applications for head mounted lamps in which it is desirable to reduce the weight of the lamp and to provide relatively stable mounting. For example, night fishermen commonly wear lightweight baseball style caps either formed entirely of cloth or with a cloth bill or brim and a plastic mesh crown. Most prior art lamps would either not be supportable on such caps or would be too uncomfortable for long use.
One attempt to solve the problem of weight for such head mounted lamps has been to mount the batteries for a lamp separately from the lamp, such as on a waist belt, and to connect the cap by long wire. Another alternative is to mount a single cell powered incandescent bulb and battery on the brim of a cap, which alternative may be sufficient when relatively little light is desired. In general, none of the prior art devices have provided satisfactory arrangements of high intensity lighting with integral batteries and multi-positional lamps.
One patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,068, also invented by the present inventor, attempted to solve these problems with a combination of a baseball-style cap and a lighting system that, in its preferred embodiment, included two battery packs, one on each side of the cap, a hermetically sealed push-button switch positioned near one edge of a bill of the cap, connecting wires, and a lamp supported by a lamp support. The lamp support was permanently fixed in the forward direction, and at one end provided a means to adjust the up and down direction of the light from the lamp. The lamp support had a very specific means of connection to the lamp, and for the adjustment of lamp angle in a single plane.
The present invention solve problems in the art of lighted hats, and advances the art with a combination that includes a novel arrangement of components on the bill of a hat to create a knife-like electrical switch that improves the ease of operation of a lighted cap, and avoids the need for a separate, hermetically sealed switch.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a combination hat and lamp which overcomes the above and other disadvantages of the prior art. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a more convenient means to turn a lamp on and off when the lamp is positioned on a bill of a cap worn on a user""s head. It is also an object of the present invention to provide improved and flexible means to support a lamp positioned on a bill of such a cap, and to generally provide a hat having a light where the power to the light is turned on by rotating a lamp structure affixed to a single point on the hat.
It is also an object of the present invention to facilitate the near-simultaneous turning on of, and adjusting the angle of, a lamp affixed to a hat. This is important to sportspersons, such as fishermen, during nighttime use. Compared to other devices in the art, the present invention avoids the need to press a switch in one location, and then move one""s hand to a different location, to the lamp itself, to adjust the lamp angle as needed.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mounting arrangement for a high intensity lamp that permits control of light direction and integral battery storage.
In one embodiment, a combination hat and lamp is provided with the hat having a crown, a bill extending from the crown, a liner circumscribing at least a portion of an edge of the crown, and an adjustable strap operatively associated with the crown for adjusting the hat to various different head sizes. The liner comprises a strip of material having an upper edge, a lower edge, and first and second ends. The lower edge is securely fastened to a bottom edge of the crown with the upper edge laying against an inner surface of the crown, while the first and second ends are attached to respective ends of the adjustable strap. Integral in this combination is a bill having on its top surface, in a line generally going from the rear forward, a first member mounted on the bill, from which rotates a support structure bearing at its forward end a lamp, and bearing a point of connection at an intermediate location, contacting upon rotation, a second member mounted forward on the bill. When the point of connection and the second member are in contact, an electrical circuit is closed, and the light has power to turn on. This knife-like switch design obviates the need for a push-button or other type of conventional switch, and facilitates operation of the switch during night-time uses.
In a preferred embodiment, first and second battery holders are located respectively on opposite sides of the crown of the hat between the crown and the liner. A first wire extends from the first battery holder to connect to the first member on the bill. A second wire extends from the second battery holder to a first electrical terminal of the lamp, and a third wire travels from the other lamp electrical terminal to the second member on the bill. A fourth wire connects the remaining ends of the battery packs together. Thereby, moving the support structure from a side to a forward position, upon contact of the point of connection with the second member, a circuit is closed and the lamp receives power from the batteries. The point of connection is electrically conductive and passes electricity between the first and second members in order to close the circuit.
Other embodiments provide a semi-rigid, adjustable conduit as a portion of the support structure, that may provide a flexible, more adjustable support as an alternative to the support structure described in a preferred embodiment. This allows adjustment of the light beam to a point other than in a single plane defined by the positioning of the lamp housing on the support structure.